What has eight legs, takes eleven months to make its way around the world, touches five continents and crosses five oceans?  If you haven’t guessed already, it’s the Clipper 11-12 Round the World Yacht Race.

The race to circumnavigate the globe was the brainchild of Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, who 41 years ago, circumnavigated the globe solo and non-stop. Sir Robin got the idea in ’95 with the idea being an emphasis on adventure, and the desire for people to break away from the treadmill of day to day life. He wanted to allow ordinary people to experience open ocean racing, once the preserve of the privileged class. 

The Players

No experience necessary. There are ten clippers participating in the race, each has a capacity of 20 people, with 17 crewmembers, and one professional skipper. Up to ten members of the crew participate for the entire circumnavigation, while other crew members, called “leggers” sign on for one or more legs of the race. Each leg is about 5,000 miles.

The leggers are an important part of the team, in essence bringing renewed physical and psychological strength to the team. To compete crew members must be at least 18 years old and fit. To date about 40 % of the crew have been women.

The crew members pay for the privilege.
The Clippers

The ten ocean going racers are all mono-hull craft produced by designer Ed Dubois. The masthead cutters, as they are known, are fast and steady and are equipped with high-end electronics providing everything from internet and e-mail access to computerised navigation and satellite technology.

The accommodation is modest, every crew member gets his own bunk and tiny storage space. There is a communal area consisting of a galley-common room. With identical boats racing against each other, the difference between winning and losing is entirely in the hands of the crew.

The Race

The race consists of 8 legs, each in turn made up of several races. With ten clippers taking part, points are awarded for each race: ten points going to the first place finisher and one point for last place. 

Life At Sea

Typically the day is divided into a series of four-hour “watches”. Teams of two crew members normally work a one-on, one-off rotation. During their off hours they can sleep, relax, send e-mails, get seasick and anything else they can find to do on a 68ft clipper.

There is also a “mother watch” during which a two person team is responsible for preparing all meals and snacks and cleaning for an entire day. Aside from the challenges of the race, the crew members have to battle fatigue caused by the on-off cycle, try to get along with each other living in some very difficult conditions, deal with extreme weather and rough seas and try to remind themselves they are doing this for fun.

In Port

The number of days in each port varies from 4 to 15 depending on the length of the preceding leg. The first third of the stopover is allocated for maintenance, cleaning and bidding farewell to departing crew members.

The middle third of the stopover can be cut short depending on how the race is progressing, but it is set aside for R & R, socialising and sightseeing, The final third is for orientation of new crew, stowing supplies and final race preparations. Also several stopovers provide an opportunity for corporate sponsors to tour the clippers, get their photos taken and if time permits, go for a sail.

More race details

The race sets off in August 2011 from the UK.  For more about the race log onto http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/Home